Would-be Alabama Gov. Doug Jones: ‘We are going to be OK’
This is an opinion column.
Doug Jones is in the race for governor, giving Alabama non-Republicans a hint of a speck of a glimmer of something that in just the right light might be mistaken for hope.
I mean, you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket, right? And you can’t win a political race if you’re not on the ticket, as Alabama Democrats should have learned by now. A slim chance, as that guy Todd Snider said, is still a chance.
I mean no offense to Will Boyd, who has nobly served as the Democrats’ sacrificial lamb in recent years, or Chad “Chig” Martin, a hemp dealer whose song “Trailer Park Mother Trucker,” dares to rhyme “car” with “fire” and “bar” with “saw her.”
It’s hard to imagine Martin has no chance with lyrics like this:
One day I’ll get a double wide,
My girlfriend’s pregnant but maybe lied,
A PBR and a Natty Light,
We’re gonna cook a hog on Friday night,
Johnny and Roy just got a new bong,
So for now I’ll say so long.
But let’s face it. There is no chance.
Jones, at least, has a glimmer of a speck of a proven puncher’s chance.
Jones in 2017 beat Roy Moore to become senator in a race that captivated America. He served until 2021, when Tommy Tuberville showed him the thumb. Jones has no country songs to croon, sadly, but I did catch up with him for a Q&A. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question:
Why do you think it’s important to do this?
Jones:
I think it’s important to give folks choices.
The choices here are just stark. And I think for too long, when it comes time for a general election, people have not had a whole lot of choices. I think now is an absolute perfect time because we are seeing Alabamians struggle with electricity bills, with health care costs, with insurance premiums, educational costs, you name it. Everything seems to be unattainable to some extent these days. People are having to work two jobs, two income families are still struggling, yet Montgomery seems to do very little to focus on those issues. Quite frankly, I haven’t seen Congress or Washington, D.C. focus on those issues a lot.
Question:
The choices are – no disrespect to others – you against Tommy Tuberville…
Jones
I think the differences in my record and what I tried to achieve and what I did achieve both as U.S. attorney and in the U.S. Senate compared with Tommy Tuberville is pretty stark. There is really nothing that he can point to other than his unabashed support for Trump, regardless of whether it has hurt Alabama. I think it’s time for folks to look at issues and look at the choices, and that’s why we believe the time is right to make this move.
Question:
What are you proudest of in your time in the Senate?
Jones:
Oh, wow. I’m proudest of the ability to work with people across the aisle, and to some extent, even those that might disagree within the Democratic caucus. I’m the proudest .. of how I was able to do things as a more centrist Democrat. To talk to folks on both sides of the aisle, persuade people, get things done, listen to them and understand where they were coming from.
I was really proud of the fact that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recognized that by giving me both a bipartisanship award as one of the most bipartisan senators, as well as… a free enterprise system award for leadership. All those things were really important to me because they demonstrate who I am and who I would like to be as governor of Alabama.
Archibald:
Some of those bills might have killed you politically…
Jones:
Look, you can’t please everybody with every vote. We’re divided and polarized. People have different views, and I get that. So you end up doing those things that you feel like were the right thing to do. Sometimes they’re not the most popular thing to do if you just take a poll, but I don’t think that’s the role of a public official. You are supposed to represent your constituencies to the greatest extent possible. But if that just means voting on a poll, a public opinion, then we really don’t need people. We could just use computers to do that.
Question:
A lot of people say it doesn’t matter if you win. That Democrats have got to be in the fight. Do you agree with that? And do you really think you can win?
Jones:
Yes, I do think we can win. I’m not going to say it doesn’t matter if you don’t win, because clearly it matters a lot if you win. You are able to do some things, working with the legislature, doing the very kind of things we did in the U.S. Senate, working with people. There are those that would say, well, you’re not going to have a majority in the legislature. That’s true. But I also think that if you were to be able to be elected governor as a Democrat, you’re going to have a bully pulpit, and people are going to take notice of that. And they’re going to want to work with the governor. I think that’s always the case. So I think there’s a lot you can do.
Question:
What’s your path to victory?
Jones:
I recognize that this is an uphill battle, that we’re the underdog. But there is a lane. I think folks are ready for a change to some extent. We have not really progressed very far as a state since Republicans took complete control some 15 years ago … and I think people are frustrated.
I think coming in to make a change, to shake things up a little bit, we’ll let the state move forward and get back to that two-party system where people are competing for ideas and not just gerrymandering folks.
Can we win? Yes. Will we win? I don’t know.
Question:
Do you think or hope that your getting into the race will motivate other high-profile candidates to get in other races?
Jones:
Hopefully my getting into the race means other folks with credibility, that can be competitive, will get into races from one end of the ballot to the other. I believe that Democrats this year, for the first time in a long time, are going to field a full slate of candidates. I think they’re going to all be credible candidates. And if they’re credible candidates, then you can make them competitive. Whether it’s me being at the top of the ticket that fosters that, I’m not sure …I think we were going to end up fielding a good slate of candidates regardless. I believe there’s some more folks that are kind of rethinking an early or no position right now, because they see the excitement that has been building, and they see the opportunities not just to win elections, but to better the state.
Question:
Any names you would throw out there?
Jones:
No, I don’t want to do that right now.
Question:
Are you running with the help of the Alabama Democratic Party or in spite of it?
Jones:
I don’t think I’m running in spite of it. It’s no secret we’ve had differences, but at the end of the day Democrats are going to rally around their nominee regardless. I believe that every race has to be built … not as a function of any political party but as yourself and who you are…. All politics is personal, personal for families, personal for communities, and that’s what we’re gonna make this about.
Question: Why should the people of Alabama, particularly people who would identify as Independent or Republican, vote for you?
Jones:
I think they need to just look at my record. Service to the people of this state, of all races, all religions, all zip codes … It’s a record of caring and understanding, talking to people and listening to people. And more importantly, it’s a record of trying to unify. Even though there were votes I took that really angered some people, I’ve still got a record of trying to bring this state together and unify people. You don’t see me calling folks names just because I disagree with them. You don’t see me dogging folks in the way that Tommy Tuberville has and trying to divide people.
It is pretty clear that he doesn’t listen to certain folks. He doesn’t care about listening to certain folks … we’re going to be listening to people as much as we’re going to be talking to people… the contrast between the two candidates and the two campaigns is going to be dramatic.
Question:
Have you had a chance to gauge how Alabama voters have responded to your entry into the race?
Jones:
You know, overall, I think it’s been pretty incredibly positive … It’s not always the Democratic Party activists. It’s people all over the state in different walks of life, from labor and working folks to some business leaders that you wouldn’t expect, from different demographics, young and old. It has been really remarkable.
So many times over the years, people remember where they were and talk about our election in 2017. And I really appreciate that. The one thing we heard after a year of Donald Trump’s presidency was you gave us hope. When you got elected in Alabama, it gave us hope. What I hear more often now is … are we going to be okay?
Question:
Are we going to be OK?
Jones:
Yes, yes, we are going to be okay. I have complete faith in the people of America. I have complete faith in the people of this state. We are going to be OK, but it’s going to take some resolve. It’s going to take some pushback. It’s going to take people standing up and fighting for everyday Americans and not just trying to rile people up on stuff that doesn’t matter … We are going to be taking people to task. And when it comes down to it, to fight for folks and their Alabama values.
Question:
And what changes do you see yourself making for Alabama?
Jones:
You know, that, I think, is going to take some time. The governor cannot legislate, but I think you’re going to see a more active governor, putting out positions and trying to work with the legislature to get some things down and get some changes made. I want to see some changes in education. I want to see some changes in workforce development. I want to see a lottery. I’m tired of Alabama sticking out like a sore thumb. Eighty percent of the people in this state believe that we should have a lottery and I agree.
I don’t want to see a comprehensive gambling bill because that’s just a whole bunch of special interests putting their fingers in the pie. I want to see the people of Alabama have a chance to vote on a lottery bill. I think we need to revisit the CHOOSE Act a little bit. There is nothing about the CHOOSE Act right now that puts any kind of qualifications or standards to the schools that are going to be getting public dollars. And we’ve got to take a good look at that. I think that that is wrong. I don’t like it in general where public dollars are going to private schools that way. But if you’re going to have it, you need to have some dang standards.
I think health care is a huge issue. I have, for eight years now, sounded like a broken record with regard to Medicaid expansion. And it is time that folks in Montgomery understand that expanding that Medicaid is going to help this state in big, big ways, even though it may cost us a little money. We’ve got to try to figure out how to keep our people healthy, give them the services they need, which in turn keeps rural hospitals open, gets doctors in, gets nurses in, gets the health care to people that they need throughout the state.
Question:
Parting words?
Jones:
You know, all I can say is this: I’m excited about the prospects of this campaign. I’m excited because of what we’ve generated in terms of discussions around the water coolers and talk among the state. And Alabama’s going to have a real race. We’re going to do some things and we’re going to say some things and we’re going to go out and meet the people and listen to them. I’ve got a lot of ideas, but you know what? It’s the people of Alabama that need to have the ideas these days.
I want this campaign and ultimately my administration to be more responsive to people and not the special interest in Montgomery the way it has been over the last at least 15 years.
Archibald:
Thank you sir.
Jones:
You bet.